Positive hold latch

ABSTRACT

THIS INVENTION IS FOR A LATCH HAVING RESILIENT MEANS WHICH POSITIVELY HOLDS THE LATCH IN CLOSED POSITION IN COOPERATION WITH A KEEPER.

POSITIVE HOLD LATCH Filed Jan. 14, 1969 INVENTOR.

FRANK CHRISTIAN OLSSON ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 19, 1971 3,556,572 POSITIVE HOLD LATCH Frank Christian Olsson, East Lyme, Conn., assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 14, 1969, Ser. No. 790,943 Int. Cl. E05c 19/06 US. Cl. 29287 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is for a latch having resilient means which positviely holds the latch in closed position in cooperation with a keeper.

This invention relates to latches. More particularly, the invention relates to a positive hold latch of simplified construction which is easy to manufacture, has a minimum number of individual parts and is easy to assemble.

In order to understand the invention more fully, reference is made to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a door provided with the latch of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a door provided with a latch according to the invention and with the latch shown in the open position in dotted lines.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 there is shown there a door 11 cut away along one corner to provide an area for attaching the latch of the invention which is generally referred to as 13. A keeper 15 is suitably attached to a wall 16 of the item toward which the door swings shut. The keeper is located in a convenient position so that it cooperates with the latch hook when the door is in closed position.

Latch 13 comprises an integral base member 17, an upwardly extending handle member 19, and a hook member 21 having a slot 22.

The base member contains a number of openings such as shown at 23 in FIG. 2 for the reception of screws 25 and 27 or other suitable fastening means to attach the base to the door. The fastening means or screws have heads which hold suitable resilient means such as rubber grommets 29 and 31 or washers or the like in place between the top of the base and the heads.

In operation the latch of this invention operates as follows. When the door to which it is afiixed is in closed position the slotted hook member cooperates with the keeper to retain the door in position. To open the door, light pressure, sufficient to deform the resilient means, is applied outwardly to the handle member. This slightly raises the integral base and the slotted hook member and disengages the hood from the keeper allowing the door to be swung into open position. To latch the door in closed position, it is simply pushed toward the keeper with sufiicient force to overcome the resilient means and allow the slotted hook member to move up over the top edge of the keeper and when engaged therewith to be positively held in place by the resilient means.

The latch of this invention can be readily manufactured from metal, plastic or other suitable material by known stamping methods. However, the latch is preferably made of stainless steel or other suitable metal. The keeper can be made simply by cutting strip material into the desired length and then stamping it into the Winged U-shaped structure shown in the drawing. The base and its integral parts can be made from a rectangular work piece having an extending portion so that one side is longer than the other. The extended portion is simply stamped and slotted to form the hook member. The main portion of the work piece is then bent in an L-shape so that the handle member and hook member are at substantially right angles to the base member and form the upwardly extending portion of the L. The hook member is then bent inwardly toward the leading edge of the base and at a substantially right angle to the handle member. Holes for reception of the screws or other suitable fastening means are drilled in the base either before or after striping the workpiece.

To assemble the latch, rubber grommets are disposed on the screws and they are inserted through the holes in the base and attached to the door as shown in the drawing. The keeper is then fastened in any convenient mannet to the wall of the item on which the door is located.

The positive hold latch of this invention is well suited for use on cupboards, cabinets, home and office furniture, sliding wall panels, windows and the like. It is simple to manufacture with readily available materials and easily installed. Moreover, because of its relatively simple construction it provides substantially trouble-free operation over long periods of time. Numerous other advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

It is to be understood that only a particular embodiment of this invention has been shown and described 7 and that many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A latch element in combination with a keeper and resilient means, the element comprising an L-shaped portion and a wing portion of integral construction, the L- shaped portion including a base member having a leading edge and a handle member extending upwardly from the base member, and the wing portion comprising a hook member disposed at substantially a right angle to said handle member and projecting beyond the leading edge of the base member to engage the keeper, said base member having openings therein adapted to receive fastening means therein, the resilient means being disposable between the upper end of said fastening means and the base and being deformable in response to pressure applied to the handle outwardly thereof for raising the hook member to disengage it from the keeper.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the resilient means includes two rubber grommets.

3. The combination according to claim 1 including the fastening means, the fastening means includes two screws with enlarged heads, and the resilient means includes two rubber grommets.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the hook member is disposed at substantially a right angle to said handle member, and said hook member has a slot therein to cooperate with said keeper.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 365,224 6/1887 Barlow 292-76 1,379,823 5/1921 Johnson et a1. 292l28 2,676,824 4/1954 Gessler 292-67 2,947,559 8/1960 Olsson 292l28 3,397,001 8/1968 Friedman 292-87 FOREIGN PATENTS 39,585 11/1928 Denmark 292128 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner R. L. WOLFE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

